1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor laser device and a fabrication method of this semiconductor laser device. More particularly, the present invention relates to a semiconductor laser device that can be reduced in size and that has high reliability, and a fabrication method of such a semiconductor laser device.
2. Description of the Background Art
Conventional semiconductor laser devices employed in optical disk drive apparatuses and the like are known. For example, the semiconductor laser device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 7-142813 has a cap member connected and fixed to a base member where a laser element is set, so as to cover the laser element.
The demand for a compact optical disk drive apparatus also places the demand for the semiconductor laser device to be reduced in size.
When a semiconductor laser device is incorporated into an optical disk drive apparatus, the position of the semiconductor laser device must be determined at high accuracy. Positioning of the semiconductor laser device is conducted using, as a reference plane, the area located outside the cap member at the plane of the base member to which the cap member is connected. The area of the region that can be used for the reference plane has become smaller in accordance with the reduction in size of the semiconductor laser device. It has therefore become difficult to maintain the high position accuracy of the semiconductor laser device in the assembly work of a semiconductor laser device into an optical disk drive apparatus.